Extreme weather in Europe

68,000 households without power in record-breaking heatwave in France

Around 68,000 households are without power in the French Finistère region amid a stifling heatwave, reports BFMTV. The power went out on Tuesday evening, due to the high temperatures in the area, and is not expected to be restored until later in the day.

On Wednesday, a total of 58 of France's 101 departments are under red heat warnings. An additional 31 are under orange warnings, writes TT.

"A scorching sun is shining across the country, and the atmosphere is heating up rapidly," writes the weather agency Météo France.

6,000 schools in France are closed or have adjusted schedules due to the heat, writes Le Figaro.

Fans are being used up like butter in the heat: “We are suffocating here”

Sales of fans and air conditioning are skyrocketing in hot Europe. On Monday alone, French supermarket Carrefour sold 30,000 fans, a thousand times more than on a normal day, reports AFP.

The news agency has spoken to American tourist John Beeler, who is visiting Paris. He is wearing a fisherman's hat and carrying a small fan in his hand.

- We are suffocating on the streets, we are suffocating in the subway and we are even suffocating in the apartment we rent, says Beeler, adding that he is now moving to a hotel.

The situation is no better in the UK, where rare red heat warnings have been issued. Electrician Harrison Hammond says the heat at work is one thing, but the train journey home to Essex was a “completely different story” on Tuesday night.

– There was no air conditioning. Everyone really suffered.

Free cinema, sprinklers and pasta – how Europe gets through the heatwave

The heatwave is gripping Europe and temperature records are expected to be broken in the coming days. Around the continent, people are coping with the heat in different ways, writes the BBC.

In Italy, authorities are recommending pasta and water instead of meat and dehydrating coffee or beer. Some workers there are also entitled to layoffs during the worst of the heat this summer, such as people working in agriculture.

At the city hall in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, three rooms have been transformed into air-conditioned cinemas. Anyone under 25 or over 65 can come there and cool off with free cinema in the afternoons.

In the very hot Spanish city of Logroño, sprinklers and fountains are working overtime, and entry to the city's swimming pools is also free during the heatwave.